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Our Stories

Becky

Becky was born August 4 1992 and died May 4 2004, exactly three
months short of her 12th birthday - a victim of SUDEP. She lived her life
in Alton, Hampshire, England and crammed a lot into her brief time on earth.

She suffered her first ever seizure in September 2001 but never got the
chance to see a neurologist. At the time of her passing she had just
undergone EEG and MRI scans but no seizure control medication had
been prescribed. No mention was made of SUDEP.

Three days after her death we heard about “sudden unexpected death
in epilepsy” for the first time. Even then it was in the form of a passing
reference from the Coroner’s Office. Then some web searching
uncovered the Epilepsy Bereaved site and our first viewing of the
acronym SUDEP... and the horror associated with it.

Becky was a beautiful, fun loving, intelligent, caring girl who was much
loved by all who knew her. She was clearly highly respected amongst
her peers who, we subsequently learned, would turn to her when they
wanted impartial, knowledgeable advice.

Although academically extremely bright, Becky wasn’t naturally good at
sport or music but, having an older sister who excelled at both, she was
always willing to try anything and give it her best shot! How we miss
seeing the way she would have developed into adulthood.

She saw a lot of the world in her short time on earth – Italy, USA,
Greece, Barbados, France and more. She absorbed cultural details.
She was a hard and diligent worker at her schools and would have
been a clear university candidate.

Assisted by the UK charity Epilepsy Bereaved (www.sudep.org) we
strive to increase awareness of SUDEP and to raise funds for research
into it’s causes and prevention.

Our beautiful Becky is no longer with us – but her memory always will be.